Huy Fong Sriracha CEO Gives Zero F*cks

Huy Fong sriracha is awesome.  I'm not breaking new ground here...if you dig condiments and/or hot sauces, you know and eat worship Rooster Sauce.

David Tran is the CEO and spearhead of Huy Fong Foods, and according to Quartz, he gives zero fucks about anything except his beloved sriracha.

Example 1: Huy Fong has no advertising.  Zero.  No Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram...hell, even their website looks like something Tran's grandkid put together for an extra credit project.

Example 2: Since 1980, Mr. Tran has never, not even once, raised the wholesale price of sriracha.  Math isn't exactly my strong suit, but I'm 110% certain that had I purchased 1,000 bottles in 1980, my life would be very different.

Example 3: He has no idea where Huy Fong sriracha is sold.  Additionally, he only recently learned that the sauce is popular with sushi chefs.  It's evident that THE MAN HAS NEVER EATEN A SPICY TUNA ROLL.

Example 4: He refuses to compromise; Huy Fong's growth is limited by the amount of fresh chilies they can harvest.  Mr. Tran refuses to make the switch from fresh to dried and is discriminating in the selection of growing plots.

"People who come here are never interested in the product, only in the profits,” he laments.

Please don't mistake my witticisms for disdain. 

I firmly believe that David Tran is a man of principle and integrity...hell, we're talking about a guy who created Rooster Sauce because he couldn't find a hot sauce he enjoyed...and his unorthodox business practices only add to the Rooster Sauce mythos.



Image by Amit Dave, Reuters

Beautifully Weird Cholula Hot Sauce Art

Cholula is a great hot sauce. As TCB has mentioned before, Cholula packs a lot of flavor, but with a low heat content (~1000 Scoville units) that only compliments and never overwhelms.

While browsing the interwebs for pictures of Cholula - because that's what we do - we came across these interesting pieces of Cholula art.  Maybe they're renditions of a lonely condiment lover's nightly dreamscape...or maybe they're ad designs from some weird marketing company in Singapore.  Either way, they're awesome!

Here we have Cholula serving as a wooden-topped bottle bridge to safety for some errant sheep. Don't feel bad for the two ewes BAAAA'ing their way to their deaths...you don't want to know how they got out there in the first place 

In this piece, a bottle of Original preserves the lives of a flock of chickens lost at sea. Coincidentally, Cholula is delicious on chicken.

Here's where things get dark.  Aliens have invaded, and they want our meats. Cholula does its best to shield our delicious animal friends from certain evisceration at the hands of our galactic enemies (saving them for certain evisceration at the hands of our friendly neighborhood butchers).

Hot Sauce: Frank's RedHot Sweet Heat BBQ Wings Sauce

 

I eat a lot of Frank's RedHot sauce...I really do put that sh*t on everything...so it's surprising that TCB hasn't reviewed it yet.

While Frank's Original is my all-purpose, vinegar-based hot sauce, their Sweet Heat BBQ Wings Sauce caught my eye in the grocery store and turned out to be pretty freakin' good.

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FLAVOR - Smoky mix of vinegar and pepper, with a smooth medium heat finish; subtle hint of buttery sweetness.
CONSISTENCY - Slightly thicker than the average hot sauce, but still on the thin side; holds food coating well
APPEARANCE -  Carnelian red with tiny black and white flecks

SMELL - Strong vinegar scent with noticeable pepper undertones

AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS -Distilled vinegar, HFCS, water, aged cayenne red peppers, tomato paste, salt, modified food starch, honey, molasses, sugar, canola oil, paprika, mustard bran, natural flavors, garlic powder, sodium benzoate (as a preservative), xanthan gum, spices, caramel color, corn syrup

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This sauce is similar to some of the homemade concoctions I've made mixing Frank's Original with various BBQ sauces.  I really enjoy the flavor of Frank's Original and the Sweet Heat stays true to that flavor, but with a BBQ sauce spin.  It's obviously great on wings, but I also apply liberally to turkey burgers and roasted chicken.

Rooster Sauce Makes Moves

Huy Fong Foods, which makes the famous Rooster-labeled sriracha (reviewed by TCB), is expanding their facilities in LA County.

Inspirational quote:  "Demand for the product has increased every year for the last 30 years, said David Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who said he founded the company when he couldn't find hot sauce he liked. 

Via The LA Times

Image by Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

Sleeping Devil in an Old Jam Jar

The NY Times featured a great article on making your own hot sauce (with 2 recipes).  I love the authentic Ball mason jars...and this post's title quote is AWESOME!

Via The NY Times

Image: by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Hot Sauce: Cholula (packet)

Although no different then the wooden topped Cholula bottle, TCB wanted to shed light on the condiment packet scene. For too long, we dreaded condiments that were associated with take-out. Sure, this wasn't always the case with certain establishments (think McDonald's sweet and sour, Wendy's honey mustard, duck sauce from Chinese spots) but too often we were stuck with generic no-name ketchup, yellow mustard or the occasional mayonnaise packet. These days it seems more high level condiments are finding there way into packet form (Ken's Steakhouse Dressings @ Yankee Stadium). Cholula packets are just one example.

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FLAVOR - Balance between heat and flavor is key; little vinegar flavor
CONSISTENCY - Thick considering its first ingredient is water (that's where the xanthan gum does its magic)
APPEARANCE - Opaque burnt red
SMELL - Peppers come through much more then the vinegar here (compared to Louisiana hot sauces)
AVAILABILITY - Finer burrito carts everywhere

INGREDIENTS - Water, peppers (Arbol and Piquin), salt, vinegar, spices, xanthan gum

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Cholula was the first hot sauce to really change the game for me. Thick, flavorful with just enough spice, in contrast to Louisiana hot sauces that are thin and vinegary. Still made in Mexico, Cholula is great on, well, anything.

Tip: mixing Cholula with sour cream to make a pinkish smooth peppery crema is one of my favorite taco condiments.

Hot Sauce: Melinda's Hot Sauce: Original Habanero Pepper Sauce

This is the original and flagship product from the Melinda's brand, which manufactures over a dozen hot sauces and other condiment goodness. Made in Costa Rica, I originally became intrigued with this sauce because it's main ingredient was carrots. I've since found the carrot's don't really add a "carroty" flavor so much as a natural, light sweet base, that allows the flavor from the peppers and lime to really shine, with out over powering your meal.

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FLAVOR - Surprisingly sweet, mild Habanero flavor with a touch of salty lime at the finish (think margarita)

CONSISTENCY - Thick, almost gel-like (believe that's a result of the pureed carrot base), which makes deployment from the "shake top" slow. That said, well worth the extra couple shakes.

APPEARANCE - Translucent burnt orange color w/ visible specs of red habaneros.

SMELL - Fresh, spiced but not spicy, with a hint of acidity from the lime juice.

AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS - Fresh carrots, choice red habanero peppers, onions, lime juice, vinegar, garlic and salt.

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This was a pleasant surprise. While it won't take over as my daily Mexican style go-to hot sauce (think Cholula, Tapitio, Valentina, etc.), it has its moments. I would highly recommend this for consumption with lighter seafood's given its fresh, lime flavor.

On a side note, Melinda's claims credit for "making the Habenero a household name."

Hot Sauce: Huy Fong Sriracha

Sriracha (pronounced sir-ra-cha) has become something of a celebrity in the condiment world.  Halloween costumes, fan girl embroidery, hipster shots, ingredient of the year awards...sriracha has a pretty serious following.

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FLAVOR - Smoky heat interspersed with garlic, followed by sweetness and finished off with the heat
CONSISTENCY - Thin-ish, but thicker than traditional hot sauce
APPEARANCE - Brilliant red with an orange tint
SMELL - Enticing aroma of chilis and garlic, with a vinegar twang
AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS - Chili, sugar, salt, garlic, distilled vinegar, potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite as preservatives, xanthan gum

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There are countless brands of sriracha, but we prefer Huy Fong's "Rooster Sauce" (along with the folks at the NY Times).  The Rooster bottle recommends using sriracha on "soups, sauces, pasta, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, chow mein or on anything" so I suspect they have a hidden camera in my kitchen.

Don't be mistaken; sriracha is no elementary hot sauce.  Its flavor has a delicious smoky complexity and the texture is much thicker.  Heat seems to slightly vary from bottle to bottle, but even at its hottest sriracha isn't too dangerous.  Note: while refrigeration isn't required, keeping your bottle in the fridge will help retain color and flavor.

Image: Neon Hot Sauce, by fensterbme